Seven Seconds of Chaos
by Rahar Moonfire
Summary: A twist on season 3 episode 5, "Seven Seconds." A little girl is kidnapped at a mall prompting a lockdown as the police and BAU team up to find her. Unfortunately, a young man happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong everything just as the BAU arrives and gets caught up in the chaos. Granted, having a gun in a mall does tend to complicate things. No OCs.
1. View From Above

**A/N:** This is my attempt to get out of my writer's block courtesy of college and Finals week. It's my first attempt writing a Criminal Minds fanfic. This will be a twist on episode 5 season 3 of Criminal Minds, _Seven Seconds_. None of the characters in this fic will be OCs if at all possible. It is a crossover but there's no need to be familiar with the other fandom for this. It'll become obvious which fandom it is next chapter and everything will be explained as it goes along. For now, this is a trial run.

 **Chapter summary:** In which a young man happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong everything just as the BAU arrives to investigate a child abduction case at a mall.

* * *

 **Seven Seconds of Chaos**

 **1: View From Above**

This place was about as normal as they came. No superheroes, no gods walking among men, no magic, nothing. Just the power of technology and human ingenuity in all its double edged magnificence. It was simple in its complexity making it largely predictable. The fact it had Starbucks was just a plus.

Unfortunately, it was in a mall which meant lots of people and noise. But at least it was on the second floor of the mall overlooking the food court so the majority of the people were far below. The noise was lost to the void of the large room, vaulted ceilings, great acoustics, and grand windows lining the far wall overlooking the Village, a series of stores physically disconnected but still a part of the mall, and the parking lot beyond that.

He glanced over the railing from his chair on the mock patio in the Starbucks down to the little people moving about the food court floor like ants. The smell of various foods wafted up to him faintly. The whole scenario was surprisingly relaxing despite of, or perhaps because of its chaos.

He took a sip of his black coffee and turned back to his computer, dismissing the outside world for the virtual one. No matter where he went, the virtual world was his escape. A world made entirely of 0s and 1s that never lied unless given the wrong information to begin with or a human was involved. An alternative rock mashup pumped through his earphones at a steady, heavy beat that made it temping to bob his head. He refused to allow himself to do such a thing, but that didn't mean he was beneath tapping his foot to the rhythm.

His younger brother was off wandering the mall with the newly engaged couple. Knowing the bride-to-be, the trio would be busy for quite a long while. She would be sure to visit as many stores as she could. This trip was mostly for her of course. The fact he was here at all was merely a case of morbid curiosity. He honestly wanted to know how long it would take before the husband-to-be and his little brother would last before one of them texted him begging to be rescued from the shopping spree. It was three hours and counting so far.

His phone rested on the small table next to his computer ready and waiting for the inevitable text. He gave it a maximum of one more hour before he was called in. The song playing on loop through his earphones faded away to a close. In the silence between the end of the song and the start as the replay kicked in was only a few seconds but it was long enough for him to hear the announcement over the P.A. system.

"Paging Katie Jacobs. Please report to security immediately," a female voice said through the mall speakers in a calm, almost impersonal voice. "Paging Katie Jacobs. Please report to security."

He glanced up from his computer at the curious announcement. Report to security, it had said. Someone must have wandered off from their party. He didn't know the name so he dismissed the announcement just as the song began playing again.

However, the beat never got the chance to drop. He was once again distracted, this time by the sound of screaming. He looked over the railing down to the food court below once more and was mildly surprised to see a blonde woman screaming and crying hysterically in the middle of the food court. A man hurried down the escalators calling the same name. The man ran across the floor to the screaming woman, grabbing her as she folded in on herself sobbing and calling a name. He held her as she wept, desperately trying to offer what comfort he could. The whole time the woman kept calling a single name: Katie.

The atmosphere of the space changed abruptly. It was no longer a calm organized chaos that he enjoyed. Security officers suddenly appeared from the sidelines and began trying to calm everyone down and take charge of the situation. They stood by the doors leading outside, refusing to allow anyone to enter or leave the area.

"Attention, all patrons," the impersonal female said over the P.A. system once more. "This is an emergency announcement. We have gone into immediate lockdown procedure. Please follow all directions of law enforcement and security personnel."

Sirens erupted from outside the windows outside the food court entrance of the mall and the young man removed his earphones to watch as police vehicles and black SUVs sped up to the mall doors and screeched to a stop. Police officers and men and women in suits rushed inside the food court. Together, the law enforcement personnel began corralling the patrons in the food court.

The young man watched as two police officers, a man and a woman began herding people on the second floor of the mall close to the stairs, escalators, and elevators leading down to the food court into the Starbucks and the frozen yogurt place on the other side of the mezzanine. Then they stood guard so no one could leave.

This was not what the young man had expected this evening. He sighed and shook his head, feeling a mixture of sorrow for the family and annoyance. Why was it chaos seemed to follow him everywhere he went? No, he did not want an answer to that question.

He reached up to tap the silver and blue device resting on his ear when it beeped insistently. "Not my fault," he said bluntly.

"I'm surprised," the woman on the other end of the phone call said. Her voice had the slightest waver around her Arabic accent. "What's going on?"

The young narrowed his glacial blue eyes, studying the scene unfolding below carefully. "I'm not sure," he said slowly. "I'll contact you shortly. For now, do as they say."

"Understood," the bride-to-be replied. "Do you still have your gun with you?" she asked after a moment.

He didn't reply. That was enough of an answer for her. "Be careful," she said.

"No promises," he said, hanging up before she could reprimand him.

He waited silently in the Starbucks watching as everyone was human ants below were herded together. The man and frantic woman were guided to a bench by the carousel between the escalators and behind the elevators. Twenty minutes passed before a commotion by the mall entrance drew his attention. A group of six people, three woman and three men, came in and met the policeman in charge.

They were an eclectic group to say the least. Their leader was a tall man with brown hair and stern expression. Despite the situation, he was not flustered and seemed to handle the frantic atmosphere with ease. The woman to his left had dark hair to her shoulders and was speaking quickly, her words inaudible from this distance. The woman on the leader's right appeared younger and wore her blonde hair long, almost to her mid-back. The last woman was not thin like the first two but carried herself with a confidence that spoke volumes of her comfort in her own skin. The pink highlights in her hair and black and white polka-dot dress certainly helped her stand out. The two other men in the group were polar opposites of each other. The younger one had all the hallmarks of a geek from the greasy hair to the choice of clothes. Put a few pins in a shirt pocket and he would fit right in at Best Buy's Geek Squad. The last member of the team was a dark skinned man built like a soldier and who dressed casually despite the situation.

The young man watching from the railing cursed softly, suddenly wishing he did not have his gun with him. Even though he had never seen these people before and hopefully would not get the chance to see them up close and personal, he knew what they were. Their manner and bearing gave them away. They were unquestionably federal agents.

Based on the reactions of the couple at the center of attention in the food court, the announcements over the P.A. system, and now the lockdown and arrival of the law enforcement in quick succession, this was a possible child abduction case. That mean the group of federal agents were likely from the FBI. The young man rubbed his forehead in frustration, pushing aside his chestnut bangs in frustration. This could get dicey fast.


	2. Panic Attacks

**A/N:** I'm so sorry for the long delay in posting this. Spring semester is finally over so I'm attempting to update all my fics over the next few days.

 **Chapter summary:** In which Kaiba plays games with computers, the BAU start investigating, and their only possible witness has a panic attack.

* * *

 **2: Panic Attacks**

 _Dostoevsky once said, "Nothing is easier than denouncing an evildoer. Nothing more difficult than understanding him."_

* * *

 _Dostoevsky once said, "Nothing is easier than denouncing an evildoer. Nothing more difficult than understanding him."_

* * *

The FBI agents broke up their huddle and spread out. The radio belonging to the two police crackled with a broken voice too fuzzy to make out from where the young man stood. People raced up the escalators with a sheaf of papers in their hands and began passing them out to every person they could reach.

"Everyone downstairs now," the female policeman yelled.

Well, this was turning out to be a pain. The young man sighed, folded up his laptop and slipped it and its cord into the metal briefcase he carried with him. He followed the group of people without a word. One of the people with the papers forced one of them into his face and he instinctively took it. It was face of a young girl, no older than seven years of age. She was smiling in the printed photograph but he was willing to be she wasn't smiling right now.

"Her name is Katie Jacobs," a woman yelled into the crowd. "We believe she's been abducted. Anyone who may have seen her, please let us know. If you even think you saw her, we need to know."

The young man stuck to the center of the crowd so he wouldn't draw too much attention to himself. He rode the escalators down from the second floor to the food court below. This could be both a blessing and a curse. The number of people here would help him blend in, but it would also make it difficult to escape.

He slipped through the throngs of people and snagged a spot between a one of the booths and a large column near the perimeter of the food court seating area. It offered a decent view of authorities as well as the customers milling about while maintaining a sense of security and privacy. Not to mention it gave him access to the plug beneath the booth.

He tapped the blue button on his earpiece and waited for the beep indicating the person on the other end had picked up before speaking. "Ishizu, where's Mokuba?" he asked, voice curt.

"He's fine," Ishizu replied. "He's right here with me and Shaadi."

"Keep him close," Kaiba said. "A child's been abducted."

The few moments of silence were indicative of the woman's surprise. "I will. I'll see what I can do about the child as well."

"You don't have to," Kaiba said as he opened his briefcase and pulled out his laptop, closing it quickly to hide the false bottom under which his gun was hidden. Locking the case, he set it to his right, blocking the view of his computer screen from the nearest police officer.

"Yes I do," Ishizu countered calmly, ignoring Kaiba's scoff. "It's a child. You know better than most how cruel people can be to children."

Kaiba refused to dignify that comment with a reply choosing instead to dim the brightness of his computer screen display and mute its audio.

Ishizu continued. "Girl or boy?" she asked.

"Girl," Kaiba replied curtly. "You should be getting a flyer with her face on it from one of the security personnel shortly. Also," he said, sneaking a glance at the two FBI women in suits standing with the distraught parents nearby, "you might want to be careful. The FBI is here."

"You're one to talk," Ishizu said. "What will you be doing?"

"For now, see what's available." He Googled the name of the mall and pulled up graphic schematics of the building. "Where are you right now?"

"They've herded us to one of the child play pen areas on the second floor," she said. "They've set up a perimeter around us. Mokuba could probably sneak away if he starts playing with the other kids, but Shaadi and I would be missed."

Kaiba zoomed in to the area of the map Ishizu indicated. "I know where you are," he said. "I'm in the food court on the first floor. Try to keep a low profile. We don't want to get too obviously involved if we can avoid it."

"Understood. What do you plan to do in the mean time?" she asked curiously.

"I need to have a starting point before trying anything elaborate. I might need Shaadi's services eventually though," he added as an afterthought.

There was a brief moment of silence. "He is ready when you need him," Ishizu said. "Don't do anything stupid," she warned.

"Nothing stupid," Kaiba said, pulling his legs up so he sat cross-legged on the floor and leaned back against the column. "Just illegal," he muttered, switching off the headset.

He pulled out his actual phone from his pocket and plugged it into his computer. A chat window opened up on his screen almost immediately.

 _ **\- Noa:** hi_

Kaiba heaved a sigh, glanced around him to be sure he didn't stand out too much. Several other kids close to his age had crowded around the available plugs and were typing away on their devices or calling someone. He would be surprised if the media didn't show up outside soon. Focusing back on his laptop, he typed a reply to the chat.

 _ **\- Kaiba:** Are you ready to play a game?_

 _ **\- Noa:** XD Always~~~ online now_

 _ **\- Kaiba:** I need to see the security footage._

 _ **\- Noa:** how far back?_

 _ **\- Kaiba:** The FBI is here which means they're probably already compiling the data as we speak. I need you to keep them off my back while I hack into their systems._

 _ **\- Noa:** K_

Kaiba glanced around him one more time. The police were move the temporary barriers from the restaurant lines to block the exits of the food court not blocked by impassible booths. They even pulled one around the outside of his little alcove. It would be easy to slip under it, but only if it wasn't watched. This could pose a problem should Kaiba need to make a quick getaway.

Noa buzzed his phone indicating he was ready to begin and Kaiba focused his attention on his computer screen. Just in case, he opened the MMORPG Perfect World International in the background. It would use some of the computing power he needed to hack, but it would also serve as a cover in case someone asked who he was talking to or what he was doing.

* * *

The Wi-Fi was absolutely horrid and don't even get her started on the bandwidth capacity. How did anyone get anything done in this place? Penelope Garcia could only shake her head. The 1980s called. It wants its everything back.

Penelope Garcia huffed and continued to set up her station trying her best to distract her mind with complaints about the mall's ancient system. The mall cops were efficient by their standards but they were nowhere near her expertise regarding technology. Computers were her bliss.

Unfortunately, she didn't have the luxury to set everything up the way she preferred. The team simply didn't have the time. The last girl who'd been abducted from this mall had been taken and murdered within the first hour. Statistics said most abducted children died within three hours. She sincerely hoped poor little Katie Jacobs did not become just another sad statistic. The girl deserved better.

She had informed Agent Derek Morgan of the only image of Katie Jacobs she'd been able to recover from the pathetic security system while he hovered over her shoulder. His comforting presence had been at odds with the urgency of his stance and clipped tones of his voice.

Now the parents were here staring in broken disbelief at the grainy, black and white photograph of their missing daughter. The father was struggling to hold it together while the mother had already dissolved into tears. It broke Penelope's heart. She could only imagine the pain they were feeling.

Agent Jennifer 'J.J.' Jareau was gently walking the distraught couple through the process of coping with their missing daughter.

"I promise you we're going over every inch of surveillance footage available," JJ said, her voice calm and understanding. "We're also sending teams out right now to sweep the entire mall, upstairs, downstairs, the basement, the air ducts, anywhere and everywhere."

"Katie has asthma," Mrs. Beth Jacobs said, her voice breaking as she held back her sobs. "She needs her inhaler."

"There were so many people there," Mr. Paul Jacobs said, gesturing to the frozen image of his daughter on Penelope's screen. "How could no one've noticed?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out," J.J. said.

"I need to be out there," Mr. Jacobs said. "She's my baby girl. I can't just stand here an-"

"I understand," Agent Hotchner said, joining their little group. "But right now, the best thing you can do is stay here and help us. When there's an abduction, the parents are debriefed separately. It's more efficient that way."

Penelope held her tongue. It wasn't her place to speak. She knew her team would do their absolute best to find that little girl. All she could do now is work her magic with the terrible technology here and pray Katie would be found before it was too late.

* * *

The boy in front of her was young, much too young to have been a part of something like this. His head hung low and his shoulders drooped. When he spoke, it was in mumbles and shrugs.

"And you didn't see anyone talk to you or Katie while you two were in the arcade Jeremy?" Agent Prentiss asked gently.

The boy shook his head silently.

"What about before the arcade?" Prentiss pressed, leaning down to catch the boy's eyes. "Maybe something simple like someone complimenting her hair or waving to her or opening the door for you. Anything at all?"

"I doubt he was paying much attention," his father, Richard Jacobs, muttered out loud.

"I was too!" Jeremy snapped indignantly.

"Sure you were," Richard said snidely.

"I'm so sorry," Mrs. Susan Richards said tearfully to Agent Prentiss. "It was my idea to go to the mall. You'd think I'd hate it after years of retail but," shrugged and let out a watery laugh, "it was convenient. I thought…"

"She was right there," Jeremy insisted. "I swear!"

"Right," Richard snorted derisively.

"Mrs. Jacobs, please," Prentiss encouraged, ignoring the father and son argument for now.

"Susan," Mrs. Jacobs said. "Call me Susan." She glanced furtively at her husband. "I was going to buy a birthday present for Richard." Her husband looked at her in surprise and she smiled weakly. "The mall was the best place." She sniffed. "I asked my sister to come with us. We could make it a family outing." She shook her head and began sobbing. "This is all my fault."

"I'm sure that's how my brother feels to," Richard said. He cast one last cold look at his son before dismissing him.

"This is not your fault," Prentiss said firmly, placing her hand on Susan's shoulder. "We will do our best to catch the person responsible. I promise."

Richard ran his hands over his face in distress. "What if this is all just a big misunderstanding?" he said suddenly. "What if Katie's just in a bookstore reading or something. She loves to read. Maybe all this attention," he gestured vaguely, "just made her scared or think she's in trouble so she's hiding in a store dressing room."

* * *

Whoever was in charge of the technical side of the search and rescue team was a genius, Kaiba noted with mild admiration. They had impressive firewalls that were giving him and even Noa some trouble. He'd barely managed to sneak a bug into the system that allowed him to share screens with the FBI's computer technician. Unfortunately, he got the disturbing feeling the computer expert was using two separate computers which meant two separate screens. Therefore Kaiba was stuck with only half of the information.

However, he was able to learn a few things. One, the security system in this mall was so far beneath sub par as to be laughable. Second, the FBI only had one image of the girl, Katie Jacobs, so far. Third, Katie appeared to be with someone in the picture but that person was standing just out of the frame. Fourth, she'd vanished from the arcade.

It wasn't much and Kaiba was well aware he was missing information, but it was a start at least. He tapped the button on the head piece around his, pulling the earpiece down so it hung by his ear.

"Ishizu," he said softly, changing his screen back to the _Perfect World_ MMORPG when an agent strolled by quickly.

"I'm here," she replied.

"The girl went missing near the arcade," he said curtly. "See if you can focus your energies there. Do not push yourself," he ordered. The last thing he needed was Ishizu getting a migraine from overusing her powers of foresight.

"Not if I don't have to," she said.

Kaiba bit back a retort which he knew Ishizu would disregard anyway. "The arcade's right by the food court," he said, remembering its location on the map as he moved his character across a grassy field in the game.

He snuck a glance over his shoulder towards the main mall complex beyond the food court and saw the arcade. It was situated directly across from the escalators and elevators separating the food court from the mall proper. There were a few empty tables and chairs near a currently abandoned cell phone case kiosk. Only one table had people in it. A boy who looked like he was about to collapse in on himself if that was physically possible and two men Kaiba recognized from the group of FBI agents who arrived earlier.

 _:Seth.:_

 _:I'm here,:_ Kaiba heard in his mind.

 _:Do me a favor,:_ he said. _:Go listen to that conversation.:_

 _:You ask so politely,:_ Seth whispered teasingly.

Kaiba felt more than saw Seth appear in his ghostly form beside Kaiba and stare at the humans with interest. Seth stood and moved undetected across the expanse to the people sitting at the table.

"…said I'm useless," the boy was saying. He looked utterly defeated, as if the weight of the whole situation rested on his shoulders.

Seth strode closer, his eyes softening as he studied the boy. He could feel Kaiba's mental presence hovering near his own, listening in on the conversation through Seth's incorporeal ears.

"I doubt he meant it," the Geek Squad FBI agent said. His light brown, wavy hair fell to just short of his shoulders as he leaned on the table facing the boy. His eyes held no judgement for the boy, just curiosity and sympathy. "Your father is just worried. When people get emotional, they often say things they don't mean. This is an emotional time for all of us."

The boy shook his head.

"Look," said the other agent Kaiba remembered to be of the military type. "We just need to know the last few moments before the abduction. Those are usually the most important. We need you to help with that."

The boy shuddered and continued to shake his head. Seth felt Kaiba narrow his mental focus on the boy, sharing Seth's eyes. At the same time, Kaiba lifted his head and actually looked over his shoulder at the scene from where he was seated. It took Seth a moment to figure out what Kaiba had noticed. But when he did, the color drained from his tan skin.

"Anything you can tell us will be important," Geek Squad coaxed.

The boy was shuddering like a dead leaf in a hurricane, his head shaking back and forth. He stood uncertainly gasping for breath and his hands clutched his chest. Both Seth and Kaiba knew the signs of an oncoming panic attack. So did the FBI agents who quickly sat the boy down and pushed his head between his legs.

Unfortunately, the FBI agents could not sense what Seth and Kaiba could. Shadows. Tendrils of Shadow slithered up the boy's legs, spiraling around his chest and squeezing it tightly. What was worse, these Shadows seemed…attached to the boy.

Without pausing to think about the possible ramifications of his actions, Kaiba snapped his laptop closed, slid it to the cold tile floor, and bolted under the makeshift barrier surrounding the food court towards the boy. He knew how to stop this. If he didn't, the boy's own fear and as yet tenuous grasp of the Shadows could kill him.

Someone noticed Kaiba's flight and hollered for him to stop. Agent Morgan who still knelt by the boy, helping him through the panic attack, whirled around at the alert, narrowing his eyes when he saw Kaiba running towards them. He stood to stop Kaiba's approach when something pulled his shirt from behind, holding him back. He turned, batting away Agent Reid's hand when he saw Spencer still sitting where he had been.

Before he had a chance to question the strange phenomenon, the stranger had already arrived and was shucking his long, white trenchcoat off and draping it gently over the panicking boy's shoulders. It didn't seem like a threat, quite the opposite in fact. Morgan decided to wait and watch. He knew if push came to shove, he could easily take the young man hovering over the boy in a fight.

But there never was a fight. Instead, Morgan watched as the young man placed his pale, long-fingered hands over Jeremy's ears, threading his fingers through Jeremy's brown hair, and lifted his head so their eyes met. Jeremy's eyes were squeezed shut so tight, the skin at the corners of his eyes wrinkled. The young stranger opened his mouth and spoke softly in a language Morgan thought could be Japanese. The calming foreign syllables served as a caress to Jeremy's half covered ears.

A policeman arrived and moved to pull the young Asian stranger away from Jeremy but Morgan waved him back. It may be a less than orthodox approach, but it was working. Spencer stood and moved closer, watching the scene with interest.

Slowly, Jeremy opened his eyes and met the young stranger's clear blue. His breathing eased from the desperate hyperventilating gasp to slow and steady breaths that eased away his panic. Jeremy never blinked once since opening his eyes. He just stared at the young stranger as he calmed down. Finally, he took a deep breath and sighed, relaxing completely.

The stranger dropped his hands from Jeremy's ears to his shoulders, squeezing them comfortingly. He made no move to take back his coat still draped over Jeremy's back. In fact, he tugged the coat's arm holes down so they rested securely on Jeremy's shoulders and patted the boy's back before standing.

He nodded politely to Morgan but said nothing.

"You speak English?" Morgan asked, eyeing the stranger with open curiosity.

The stranger furrowed his brow and nodded hesitantly. "Some," he admitted, his accent heavy.

Morgan nodded. "Thank you," he said.

"Was that Japanese?" Spencer asked, stepping closer.

"Ah," the young man replied.

"What's your name?" Morgan asked drawing the young man's attention back to him.

The stranger thought for a moment before answering. "Kaiba," he said simply.

Morgan held out his hand, startling Kaiba. "I'm Agent Morgan," he said, waiting for Kaiba to take his hand before shaking it. "This is Agent Spencer," he said, pointing to his partner. "We're with the FBI. Do you two know each other?" he asked, gesturing between Kaiba and Jeremy.

Kaiba shook his head but it was Jeremy who answered. "No," Jeremy said, earning him a look from Kaiba. "I've never seen him before." Jeremy looked up at Kaiba and said, "Thanks." He started to pull the coat off of his shoulders to hand it back to its rightful owner but Kaiba stopped him, shaking his head.

"Keep it," Kaiba said. "Panic attacks are not," he thought for a moment, "pleasant things."

Without another word, Kaiba offered a nod to the federal agents and walked back to the food court, settling on the ground by a column and pulling a laptop onto his lap. Morgan watched him go suspiciously. He couldn't put his finger on it but something about Kaiba bothered him. The way he moved was graceful but there was an edge to it that hinted at a familiarity with violence only a soldier would recognize.

Without the trenchcoat, Kaiba was tall, thin, and lanky. He was generally nonthreatening in appearance and even Morgan would admit the boy was handsome in his own way. But those blue eyes were cold and hard, only softening when they focused on Jeremy.

Morgan waved over another FBI agent standing nearby. "Keep an eye on him," he said.

"Yes sir," the agent said. She strolled back to the food court and took up a position that allowed her to keep Kaiba in her line of sight at all times.

"Hey kid," Morgan said. "Don't worry," he said when Jeremy met his eyes nervously. "You're not in trouble. Just stay here with Agent Reid and relax, okay? I'll be right back."

Jeremy nodded and Morgan left to inform his friend Hotch of this new development.


End file.
